It’s summer, which means vacation for thousands of families. Whether it’s the North American
pilgrimage to Disney, visiting family, or just seeing disparate family members, flying with kids
is not easy at any age. Here are some times for making the airplane ride as enjoyable as possible
for you as well as your fellow travellers.

The Airplane Ride

Our last flight was intimidating because we had to keep three very young children busy but in their
seats for six hours on a nonstop flight across the continent. Our oldest was intrigued by the plane
and take off, but got bored fast. The babies needed constant entertainment. Overall we were able to
keep them in their seats, quietly playing with toys, and fed to satisfaction so there were no tears
or bouts of yelling. If anyone else on the plane was disturbed, it was by the presence of children
on the plane, not by noise or invasion of space.

Key takeaways from this excursion were:

Seat Selection: It cost more to pre-book the seats but I am glad we did. As it was we took
an entire row just for our family. If we had left it to chance the flight crew would have tried
to arrange for us to move together once all the passengers had boarded, but it wasn’t a guarantee.
That would have been messy.

Seat Location: We sat as far back as possible on the plane. This was good because most other
passengers try to sit near the front of the plane so the back tends to be emptier. We had a great
view of the latrine which came in handy for the many in-air diaper changes (what an adventure!).

Feeding: We were still on a three hour schedule for feeding the baby, but fortunately we didn’t
need to give him prepared bottles. We bought milk after passing security and managed with sippy cups
for the older kids. The flight crew were kind enough to warm up the youngest one’s bottle with milk
for us.

If you are traveling with smaller children, most airlines are able to warm bottles for you (but
check ahead!). You are allowed to carry on as much powdered formula as you need but airport
security may want to check any prepared bottles. Honestly, if you have to fly with an infant
ready-made bottles are your friend assuming your baby doesn’t have an intolerance. They can be
consumed at room temperature and are pretty easy to carry around.

Entertainment: Three kids meant three carry-on bags, which we took advantage of to stuff
full of small toys. Every thirty minutes or so we would bring out a new toy and put the old one
back, keeping things new and interesting. The tactic worked!

This was before the rise of the iPad – totally bring your iPad if you can!

Time of Day: I booked the flight for nap time! Although there was a lot of excitement and
distraction, all of the kids took turns sleeping on the flight. I can’t say enough how
thankful we were for those down times!

Other Travellers

No matter how well behaved your kids are there will be other travellers on the plane who
have their nose bent out of shape about having to share the cabin space with children. Don’t let
them bother you. Honestly the engine noise is louder than any whiney kid; people need to come
prepared with headphones and their own entertainment.

At the same time remember that people generally do not board a plane (or bus, or boat) looking to
socialize with other travellers - they typically want to be left alone and eke out as much
personal space as they can. Your child may be absolutely cute and delightful, but that doesn’t mean
other passengers appreciate getting googly eyes, touched, stared at, or otherwise interacted with
by uninvited children.

The morale of the story is keep your kids forward facing and entertained. You’re expected to parent
your child - that can be a tough job! One day they’ll be grown enough to manage on their own and
you can sleep through your flights again, but when you have small kids to take care of that’s all you
need to think about doing.

Feedback

Do you have any horror stories or funny tales to share from your experiences traveling with your
kids? Share them below!